1 Timothy 5:8

The Christian faith includes the law of love. The moral teaching of Christianity recognises the divine origin of all natural and innocent human affections. The unbeliever, i.e., the born heathen, possesses natural family affection; and though these feelings may be stunted by savagery, the heathen are not likely to be sophisticated by human perversions of religion, such as those denounced by Jesus in Mark 7. Ell. says. “It is worthy of notice that the Essenes were not permitted to give relief to their relatives without leave from their ἐπίτροποι, though they might freely do so to others in need; see Joseph. Bell. Jud. ii. 8, 6.”

The Christian who falls below the best heathen standard of family affection is the more blameworthy, since he has, what the heathen has not, the supreme example of love in Jesus Christ. We may add that Jesus Himself gave an example of providing for one's own, when He provided a home for His mother with the beloved disciple.

οἱ ἴδιοι are near relatives: οἱ οἰκεῖοι, members of one's household. One of the most subtle temptations of the Devil is his suggestion that we can best comply with the demands of duty in some place far away from our home. Jesus always says, Do the next thing; “Begin from Jerusalem”. The path of duty begins from within our own house, and we must walk it on our own feet.

οἰκείων : The omission of the article in the true text before οἰκείων precludes the possibility of taking the word here in the allegorical sense in which it is used in Gal. and Eph.: “the household of the faith”; “the household of God”.

προνοεῖ : This verb is only found elsewhere in N.T. in the phrase προνοεῖσθαι καλά, Romans 12:17; 2 Corinthians 8:21 (from Proverbs 3:4, προνοοῦ καλὰ ἐνώπιον Κυρίου καὶ ἀνθρώπων).